Academic Appeal
Grounds for Appeal
Students may appeal any academic decision believed to be arbitrary, capricious, or unfair. A student’s mere dissatisfaction with a grade or decision is not grounds for an appeal. For an appeal to have merit, there must be some evidence that the student has been treated inappropriately with regard to the administration of the university’s policies and procedures.
Procedure
Appeals will be considered only if they are from students enrolled at UMHB upon initiation of the first appeal. Furthermore, appeals must be initiated within 30 days calendar of the date of the decision or action being appealed. The student should send the appeal by campus email. A written copy delivered to the recipient is also strongly encouraged.
The student should first appeal the decision in writing to the person who made it by stating the appropriate rationale for reconsideration, the requested remedy, and the student’s contact information. If the matter is not resolved, the student may then appeal that decision in writing to the next highest authority.
In matters related to academic coursework, the line of appeal is first, the faculty member; second, the associate dean/department chair (as applicable to the College); third, the dean of the college; and finally, the Provost’s Office.
Each person to whom an appeal is made will normally respond to the student in writing within five (5) business days of receipt of the appeal. The student will have ten (10) calendar days from the date of that response to appeal to the next level. Extensions may be granted by the Provost’s Office in cases where the issue requires more extensive review and/or other extenuating circumstances.
The dean and/or Provost’s Office may request a meeting with the student and other parties involved.
Conversations and/or correspondence with anyone other than students and UMHB faculty/ staff will not be considered in responses to appeals until and unless the issue has been appealed to the Provost’s Office.